USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 10
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1 Penhallow, in N. H. Hist. Coll. hallow, in N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 54-56; i. 54, says the fleet sailed March 13 - a misprint, probably, for May 13.
2 Haliburton, N. S. i. 84, says the fleet arrived May 17. This must be a mistake.
3 On this expedition, see Charle- voix; Hutchinson, ii. 150-155 ; Pen- VOL. II. 7
Chalmers, Revolt, i. 335, 336; Hali- burton's N. S. i. 83, 84; Holmes, Ann. i. 496, 497, and notes. In the pamphlet entitled "The Deplorable State of N. Eng.," &c., the blame of the failure of this expedition is charged to Governor Dudley.
98
FAILURE OF THIS ATTEMPT.
CHAP. was to be attacked ; and in Connecticut, New York, and New IV. Jersey, fifteen hundred men were to be raised, - including the
1709. four independent companies of one hundred men cach, the reg- ular garrison of New York, - who were to march by the lakes and attack Montreal. The expedition from the northern col- onies was to be commanded by Colonel Vetch, an officer who had already been engaged against the French ; and it was left to Lord Lovelace, the governor of New York, to appoint the general officer for the troops from the southern department ; but by his death the power devolved upon Ingoldsby, the lieu- tenant governor, and Francis Nicholson, successively lieutenant governor of New York, of Maryland, and of Virginia, was selected, and marched with his forces to Wood Creek, near the head of Lake Champlain.
The transports and troops from Massachusetts and Rhode Island waited at Boston from May to September, every day Sept. May to expecting the fleet from England ; but no intelligence arriving, Colonel Vetch, satisfied that it was too late to set out at that season of the year, proposed a conference of the governors at Oct. 11. Rhode Island. A few days before this meeting, a ship arrived at Boston from England, with advices from Lord Sunderland that the forces intended for America had been ordered to Por- tugal, and with directions to consult upon the expediency of attacking Port Royal ; but by the refusal of the English ships then in the harbor to join in the expedition, the General Court, then in session, desired the governor to discharge the trans- ports and disband the men, who had been kept under pay five months, greatly to the embarrassment of the finances of the province. Thus the new scheme of conquest, like others which had been devised, through the negligence of England proved an abortion, expensive to the colonists and injurious to their interests.1
1 On this expedition, see Mass. Rec's, vii. 426 ; Dummer, in 3 M. H. Coll. i. 234 ; Hutchinson, ii. 160- 163; Penhallow, in N. H. Hist. Col.
i. 61; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 343 ; Gra- hame, ii. 26; Holmes, Ann. i. 500; Williamson's Me. ii. 58; Dunlap's N. York, i. 266; Hildreth's U. S. ii. 261.
99
PORT ROYAL BESIEGED.
The next expedition was more successful. At the instance CHAP. of Nicholson, Colonel Schuyler, of New York, had visited IV. England with five Iroquois sachems, fantastically attired, who 1709-10. were conducted in state to an audience with the queen, and March. 1710. Apr. 19. attracted the attention of the journalists of the day.1 The government of New York, through these agents, renewed its appeal for aid in the reduction of Canada ; and, as the meas- ure was one which demanded attention, the Dragon and Fal- mouth, two of her majesty's fifty gun frigates, with the bomb ship Star, a tender, and several transports, left England in the May 8. spring, and arrived at Boston in the middle of July. Joined July 15. here by the Lowestoff and the Feversham, from New York, Sept. 9. and the Chester, of fifty guns, with the province galley, and fourteen transports in the pay of Massachusetts, five from Con- necticut, two from New Hampshire, and three from Rhode Island, the whole fleet, consisting of thirty-six vessels, sailed from Nantasket for Port Royal, having on board, besides the Sep. 18. regiment from England, commanded by Colonel Redding, four regiments raised in New England, two of which were com- manded by Sir Charles Hobby and Colonel Tailer of Massa- chusetts, one by Colonel Whiting of Connecticut, and one by Colonel Walton of New Hampshire, with Nicholson as general of the forces, and Vetch as adjutant general. In six days the Sep. 24. fleet anchored before Port Royal, and the troops were landed without opposition. The forces of Subercase, the governor of the French fortress, consisted of but two hundred and sixty men, most of whom were so insubordinate that they could not be trusted. The siege continued three or four days, the French throwing shells and shot from their fort, and the bomb ship replying with signal effect, when, finding the place too warm for them, a flag of truce was sent from Subercase, praying Sep. 29. leave for the ladies in the fort to be sheltered in the English camp. This request was granted; but two days after, the
1 Coke's Detection, iii. 382, where N. Y. i. 121-123; Trumbull, vol. i .; are the names of the chiefs; Smith's Holmes, i. 502, note.
100
FURTHER PROJECTS OF NICHOLSON.
CHAP. English engineers, Forbes and Rednap, having thrown up
IV. three batteries within one hundred yards of the walls, mount- 1710. ing two mortars and twenty-four cohorn mortars, the attack Oct. 1. was renewed. At length Colonel Tailer and Captain Aber- crombie were sent to the French commandant with a summons to surrender ; a cessation was agreed upon ; terms of capitulation Oct. 2. were settled ; on the following day the articles were signed ; Oct. 5. Port Royal was delivered into the hands of the victors ; in honor of her majesty, Queen Anne, the name of the place was changed to Annapolis ; and General Nicholson, having made himself master of all Acadia, left a garrison at the fortress under the command of Colonel Vetch, and returned with his Oct. 26. fleet and army to Boston.1
Flushed with success, the ardent Nicholson, panting for 1711. greater triumphs, again visited England, to urge the conquest of Canada ; and being joined there by Jeremiah Dummer, a young man of superior abilities and accomplishments, after- wards conspicuous in the history of Massachusetts, a memorial was presented to the queen, begging her, " in compassion to the plantations, to send an armament against Canada," in which enterprise he represented that not only Massachusetts, but the other provinces, " even Virginia," would be ready to aid.2 Massachusetts, however, had faint hopes of the success of this appeal ; for, as the change in the ministry, alluded to in a previous chapter, had just taken place, - the tories under Harley and St. John having raised themselves to power, - with what confidence could the colonists look for favor from a party adverse to their views, when their prayers had been treated with neglect by their friends ? Greatly to their sur- prise, however, and as greatly to their joy, prompt attention June 8. was paid to their request ; and, at the return of Nicholson, 1711.
On this expedition, see Mass. 348, 349; Haliburton's N. S. i. 85- Rec's ; Charlevoix ; Lediard's Naval 88; 1 M. H. Coll. vi. 120; Dummer's Defence, 32; Williamson's Me. ii. 59. 2 Chalmers, Revolt, i. 349; Hil- dreth's U. S. ii. 169. Hist. Eng. 848, 849 ; Hutchinson, ii. 164-167 ; Penhallow, in N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 63-66 ; Chalmers, Revolt, i.
101
ARRIVAL OF ADMIRAL WALKER.
they were informed that a fleet of from twelve to fifteen ships CHAP. of war and forty transports, under the command of Sir Hoven- IV. den Walker,1 and seven veteran regiments from Marlborough's 1711. army, under General Hill, with a battalion of marines six hundred in number, was to sail immediately from England, and would probably arrive on the coast in a very few days.
By the same messenger, orders were forwarded from the queen to the governments of New England, New York, the Jerseys, and Pennsylvania, to raise the quotas assigned to them, in readiness to join the fleet without delay, with provis- ions for the army sufficient for ten weeks' supply.2 The rea- son assigned for the last order was, that there might be no suspicions in Europe of the destination of the fleet, which was kept secret ; but the government of Massachusetts, aware of the difficulty of procuring such a quantity of provisions at so short a notice, began to suspect that it was not seriously de- signed in England that Canada should be taken, and that this unusual course had been adopted to shift the blame of the expedition, in case of its failure, from the mother country to the colonies. To anticipate this charge, the governor, and even private persons, put forth vigorous exertions to secure the requisite supplies ; and the people, though with some reluc- tance, acquiesced in their demands.
Upon the arrival of the fleet,3 with six thousand seamen and Jun. 25. marines, and five thousand five hundred soldiers, as money, the " sinews of war," was necessary for the expedition, the General Court of the province, notwithstanding the embarrassment of the finances, determined to issue forthwith forty thousand
1 His commission is in his Journal, App. 159, 160, and his instructions are in ibid. 166-174.
2 A meeting of the governors of the several colonies was held at New London on Thursday, June 20; and in three days' time the necessary orders, &c., were agreed upon. Boston News Letter, No. 376. The New England
forces consisted of 1500 men. Walk- er's Journal, 85.
3 The Boston News Letter, No. 379, says, on Monday, 25th June, the Castle gave alarm of several ships in the Bay, and General Hill arrived. His excellency was absent at the con- gress at New London. Walker, Jour- nal, 35, says he arrived at Nantasket June 24.
102
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED.
CHAP. pounds in bills of credit, to be loaned to merchants and others IV. for the term of two years, for the purchase of bills of exchange
1711. on the treasury of England. As provisions were held at ex- travagant rates, in consequence of the sudden and enormous demand, an order was likewise issued regulating the prices at which different articles should be sold. The dealers, upon this, closed their stores, or concealed their goods. The gov- ernment authorized an impressment of provisions, in case of refusal to sell ; and this brought the malcontents to terms.1
Nor were these the only difficulties encountered. Soldiers and seamen began to desert ; and Admiral Walker demanded their return, or a supply equal to the loss. All the evils inci- dent to the quartering of a large force suddenly upon the coun- try began to manifest themselves ; and it was soon evident that, unless the departure of the expedition was hastened, the whole design must end in discomfiture or disgrace.2
July 30. At length, after a month's delay, the fleet, consisting of about eighty vessels in all, sailed ; but scarcely had it begun to ascend Aug.23. the St. Lawrence, when eight ships were wrecked, and nearly a thousand men found a watery grave. A council of war voted unanimously that it was impossible to proceed ; and, without attempting any thing against Placentia, or striking a single
1 The speech of Governor Dudley of July 5 to the General Court, to forward the expedition, is given in the Boston News Letter, No. 377; and Walker's Journal, 72, 73, com- mends his interest in the enterprise. A fast was proclaimed July 16, to be held July 26, and on the last Thurs- day in each month afterwards during the continuance of the expedition. Ibid. No. 379. Walker, Journal, 36, 64, 65, complains of " the prices of pro- visions, and other necessaries for the fleet and army, in New England," and unjustly charges the government with enhancing the expenses of the expedi- tion "to make an advantage of our necessities; " but it would seem from
his own account, pp. 76-78, and from other authorities, that the quantity re- quired for his fleet was greater than Boston or the province could supply. Jonathan Belcher was the principal contractor to furnish provisions for the fleet, and Peter Faneuil provided the military stores. Ibid.
2
' The General Court of Massachu-
setts, in anticipation of the arrival of Admiral Walker, issued an order, May 30, 1711, to prevent the desertion of sailors, marines, and soldiers ; and at a later date, July 16, a second order of the same purport was issued. See Mass. Rec's, and comp. Walker's Journal, 198, 199, 229, 230.
103
FAILURE OF THE EXPEDITION.
blow against the French, the bows of the vessels were turned CHAP. homeward, and the enterprise was abandoned.1 IV.
Upon whom the responsibility of the failure of this expedi- tion rests, it may be difficult to say. Admiral Walker charged it to the misconduct of the colonists ; the colonists imputed it to his own mismanagement. The disappointment and loss were so grievous to New England, that "it affected the whole coun- try seven years after," and some abandoned all hopes of the reduction of Canada. So many failures indicated, as they con- ceived, that "Providence never designed the whole northern continent of America to be under the dominion of one nation." But the "fulness of times " had not then come. He who sits at the helm of the universe, guiding events in accordance with his own plans, had not issued the mandate which was to con- duct England to victory, and, by that very triumph, open the way for the independence of her colonies. Truly,
"There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Roughhew them as we will."
1 On this expedition, see Mass. Rec's ; Walker's Journal, passim ; Ra- pin, iv. 215, 216, and notes ; Charle- voix ; Boston News Letter, No. 379, 380, 381; Dummer's Letter to a No- ble Lord ; Lediard, Naval Hist. 851- 856; Hutchinson, ii .; Chalmers, Re-
volt, i. 349-352, 354 ; Penhallow, in N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 72-77; Dummer's Defence, 32; Holmes, Ann. i. 504, 505; Williamson's Me. ii. 63; Gra- hame, ii. 30, 33 ; Bancroft, U. S. iii. 218-224; Hildreth, ii. 265-267.
1711. Sep. 16.
1
CHAPTER V.
ADMINISTRATIONS OF SHUTE, BURNET, AND BELCHER.
CHAP. V.
THE removal of Mr. Dudley took place soon after the acces- sion of George I. ; and the government of Massachusetts, for 1715. which there was usually a sufficient number of aspirants, was Nov. conferred on Colonel Burgess, who had fought under Stanhope, the new secretary of state, but who, from his " necessitous con- dition," and the looseness of his manners, but especially from his friendliness to the private bank party, was particularly obnoxious to many of the people. Hence, through the influ- ence of Jonathan Belcher, a prominent opponent of the private bank, and Jeremiah Dummer, the agent of the province in England, and with the assistance of Sir William Ashhurst, a warm friend to America, Mr. Burgess was persuaded, for the sum of one thousand pounds, to resign his commission in favor of Samuel Shute, an officer in the wars of William and Anne, . who, from the respectability of his connections, and his pro- fessed religious and political principles, was more acceptable than Burgess.1 By no means a man of " natural imbecility," 2 the new governor was one who was well esteemned at court. Destitute of the intriguing disposition of Dudley, he had the character of a " friend to liberty ;" and if not possessed of extraordinary or even brilliant talents, or if, like Phips, some- what passionate at times, and a lover of ease, he was of an " open, generous, and humane disposition," and possessed many qualities which not only commended him to popular favor, but
1 Boston News Letter, Nos. 633, 634.
2 Such is the charge of Chalmers, Revolt, ii. 11. (104)
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105
ARRIVAL OF GOVERNOR SHUTE.
which fitted him for the office to which he was appointed.1 CHAP. Unfortunately for him, and for all others, however, who held v. the office of chief magistrate of the Province of the Massachu- 1716. setts Bay, there were insuperable obstacles to perfect success in the administration of affairs. These obstacles arose from the conflict of opinion between the province and the crown, and the natural jealousy that those who were placed over them at the pleasure of the king were, from that very fact, inimical to their liberties, and disposed to uphold the prerogatives of roy- alty. Whatever abilities, therefore, the chief magistrate might bring to the discharge of his duties, something more was needed than splendid administrative talents to overcome the prejudices of the politicians of New England. They could say, with Pericles, -
" Kings are earth's gods ; in vice their law's their will ; And if Jove stray, who dares say, Jove doth ill ? " 2
Hence, as the governors of the province were appointed by the king, and were his representatives, bound to conform to his instructions at the peril of displacement, if his measures were arbitrary, theirs must be of the same character ; and if he- sought to oppress his subjects, they must assist in fastening the yoke.
Agreeably to the expectations which had been formed of him, Governor Shute, upon his arrival, allied himself with the opposers of the private bank ; and with the family of Governor Dudley, in particular, he was soon on quite friendly terms, taking his lodgings at the house of Mr. Paul Dudley. The friends of the private bank were exceedingly chagrined, for they had counted upon securing his influence. Hence their opposition to his administration was bitter from the outset, and increased in violence as years rolled on.3
1 See C. Mather's Letter to Lord Barrington, in 1 M. H. Coll. i. 105, 106.
2 Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Act i. Sc. 1.
3 Hutchinson, ii. 197. Col. Shute sailed from the Downs August 2, 1716, on board the Lusitania, and reached Boston on Thursday, October 4. Bos- ton News Letter, Nos. 650, 651.
1716. Oct. 4.
106
COMMERCE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CHAP. V. The population of the province in the early part of Mr. Shute's administration was much greater than at the date of 1716. the grant of the charter. The official reports represent Mas- sachusetts as "inhabited by ninety-four thousand white persons, who possessed two thousand slaves, and by twelve hundred civilized Indians, who professed Christianity, and tilled their lands in peace."1 The commerce of the country had propor- tionally increased ; and from one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty vessels, of the aggregate burden of six thou- sand tons, are said to have been annually built, which formed part of their remittance to England. Massachusetts owned at least one hundred and ninety vessels, of the aggregate burden of eight thousand tons, which were navigated by eleven hun- dred men ; and one hundred and fifty " boats," employing six hundred men "in the fisheries" on the coast. The manufac- tures of cotton and woollen goods, and of linen by Scotch-Irish families settled at the eastward,2 supplied the ordinary demands of the people ; and, " though necessity, not choice," led to the establishment of these manufactures, the vigor with which they were prosecuted awakened the jealousy of the merchants of England, and representations were made to the Board of Trade that, if these things continued, " they will be able in a little time to live without Great Britain, and their ability, joined to their inclination, will be of very ill consequence."3 The value of the annual imports to all the American plantations at this 1717. date is estimated at "one million sterling, in British products and manufactures, and foreign goods," the conveyance of which employed at least a fourth part of the shipping cleared from the kingdom. The exports, at the same date, amounted to eight hundred thousand pounds sterling ; and the balance of
1 N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, v. 597 ; Chalmers, Revolt, ii. 7, 14. The pop- ulation of all the colonies was estimat- ed at 434,600.
2 These families - mostly Scotch Presbyterians, settled in the province of Ulster in the reign of James I. -
established themselves in New Hamp- shire and Maine. Belknap's N. H. ii. 35 et seq ; Williamson's Me .; Chal- mers, Revolt, ii. 14.
3 N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, v. 598 ; Chalmers, Revolt, ii. 12.
107
COMMERCE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
two hundred thousand pounds " fell upon the provinces to the CHAP. northward of Maryland, who were enabled to discharge the V.
same by the trade they were permitted to carry on in America and to Europe, in commodities not enumerated in the Acts of Trade." 1 From Boston alone, in the three years ending June Jun. 24, 24, 1717, there were cleared, for the West Indies, including 1714, to Jun. 24, the British islands, five hundred and eighteen ships, sloops, 1717. and other vessels ; for the Bay of Campeachy, twenty-five ves- sels ; for foreign plantations, fifty-eight vessels ; for Newfound- land, forty-five vessels ; for Europe, forty-three vessels ; for Madeira, the Azores, &c., thirty-four vessels ; for Great Britain, one hundred and forty-three vessels ; for British plantations on the continent, three hundred and ninety vessels ; and eleven vessels for " ports unknown ; " - an aggregate of twelve hun- dred and forty-seven vessels, amounting to sixty-two thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight tons of shipping, and employ- ing eight thousand six hundred and ninety-seven men.2 Salem, in the same period, cleared two hundred and thirty-two vessels, having an aggregate of thirteen thousand four hundred and thirty-one tons, and employing one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two men; while from New York there were cleared, from 1715 to 1718, but six hundred and forty-five vessels, hav- ing an aggregate of twenty-two thousand three hundred and ninety-two tons, and employing four thousand five hundred and thirteen men.3
These details, though imperfect, furnish some insight into the commercial activity of the province, and tend to show that
1 N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, v. 614, 615. Dummer, Defence, 10, estimates the annual value of the exports from New England, previous to 1721, at £300,000.
2 N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, v. 618. Chalmers, Revolt, ii. 41, characterizes these details as " fallacious." Of the 1247 vessels alluded to in the text, 1199 were plantation built. The fol- lowing scraps are given in further il-
lustration of the text: From May 12 to 19, 1707, fifteen vessels entered at Boston, and eight cleared. News Let- ter, No. 161. From May 26 to June 2, nine entered and fifteen cleared. Ibid. No. 163. From June 9 to 16, thirteen entered and eleven cleared. Ibid. No. 165.
3 N. Y. Colon. Doc'ts, v. 618; Hutchinson, ii. 320, note.
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108
COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE PROVINCE.
CHAP. Massachusetts, more than a century ago, was the same busy V. and enterprising community as at present, and that the energies 1717. of her people flowed in substantially the same channels. Is it strange that such a people were regarded with envy, and that the statesmen of England, unable to solve the startling problems which this unparalleled progress presented, became fearful lest the new world should outstrip the old ? Under these circum- stances, the policy which was adopted was neither unnatural nor inexplicable. "If the colonies are so prosperous," - thus rea- soned the ministers of the king, (for ministers, like other men, reason and act from the circumstances in which they are placed,) -" we should reap the benefit of that prosperity ; and they, as subjects, are bound to contribute to the relief of our necessities. If England is burdened with debt, America must aid in paying that debt ; and if the colonies will not vol- untarily submit, they must be forced to obey. We can make our power felt; and if they refuse to yield, we must punish their stubbornness by retrenching their privileges." Few had the sagacity to perceive that the prosperity of America was the prosperity of England, and that more benefit could be derived to the mother country by leaving the colonies to their own way than by hampering their commerce with burdensome restrictions, and checking their industry by discouraging man- ufactures.
It was the popular complaint of the age, however, not only in relation to the charter, but also to the proprietary govern- ments, that they showed "too great an inclination to be independent of their mother country, and carried on a trade destructive to that of Great Britain ; " and these evils it was proposed to remedy by " bringing them all under his majesty's immediate government, and compelling them, by proper laws, to follow the commands sent them by the crown." "It hath ever been the wisdom," - thus they reasoned, - " not only of Great Britain, but likewise of all other states, to secure, by all possible means, the entire, absolute, and immediate dependency
109
DISPUTE WITH MR. BRIDGER.
of their colonies ; " and hence the attempts to reduce the colo- CHAP. nies of America.1 V.
A dispute with Mr. Bridger, his majesty's surveyor of the 1717. woods, who came to New England by the way of New York, in the same ship with Lord Bellamont, to "inquire into the state of the country, and its capacity for producing naval stores, particularly masts, and oak timber for ship building," was the precursor of difficulties which disturbed the province for a series of years. The inhabitants of Maine, conceiving that Mr. Bridger had infringed upon their rights by forbidding them to cut trees suitable for masts, - though necessary to make way for the operations of tillage, - strenuously opposed his course, and were joined by Mr. Cooke, a zealous politician, who charged the surveyor with malconduct, in compounding Nov. with trespassers for his personal emolument - " permitting such persons as would pay him for it to cut down the trees which were said to belong to the king."2 The governor took the part of the surveyor, and the next year refused to approve the 1718. choice of Cooke as a member of the Council. Indignant at this interference, the rejected candidate memorialized the Coun- cil, justifying his conduct. That body at first inclined to pass the matter by ; but subsequently a committee was appointed on their part, to join a committee of the House, to consider this memorial ; and the joint committee reported in favor of Cooke. An account of these proceedings was transmitted to England ;
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